Exterior Acoustic Louvre

ABSTRACT

An exterior acoustic louvre comprises a louvre body which defines major upper and lower surfaces and minor side surfaces. The louvre body includes a support element, a sound-energy absorption element supported by the support element, and a flexible plastics watertight element which watertightly encases the sound-energy absorption element. The louvre body is arranged so that the watertightly encased sound-energy absorption element can receive sound energy in the directions of both the upper and lower major surfaces of the louvre body.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(b) from UnitedKingdom Patent Application No. GB1021888.1, filed Dec. 23, 2010, forExterior Acoustic Louvre.

The present invention relates to an exterior acoustic louvre, forexample, for deadening or damping sound emanating from exterior fanunits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exterior acoustic louvres are known and as mentioned above commonly usedto deaden or damp noise being generated by exteriorly placedelectromechanical units, such as fans, whilst also providing adequateventilation and shielding against ambient environmental conditions, suchas sun and rain.

However, to date known exterior acoustic louvres including internalsound-insulating material are only open on a lower surface to absorbincident sound energy. The upper surface is fully closed by the louvrebody to prevent or limit the ingress of rain and other precipitation.

This is problematic, since in use any sound energy which is reflectedfrom the lower surface of the louvre is immediately reflected by thesolid upper surface of the neighbouring louvre below.

The present invention seeks to provide a solution to this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided an exterioracoustic louvre comprising a louvre body defining major upper and lowersurfaces and minor side surfaces. The louvre body includes a supportelement, a sound-energy absorption element supported by the supportelement, and a flexible plastics watertight element which watertightlyencases the sound-energy absorption element. The watertightly encasedsound-energy absorption element is accessible in the directions of boththe upper and lower major surfaces of the louvre body.

In this way, incident sound energy from above or below the in useexterior acoustic louvre can be attenuated as it passes through thewatertight housing.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic lateral cross-sectional view of oneembodiment of an exterior acoustic louvre, in accordance with thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawing, there is shown one embodiment of an exterioracoustic louvre 10 which comprises a louvre body 12 connectable to anexterior support system (not shown due to being widely available andtherefore understood by the skilled addressee in this field).Preferably, the exterior support system includes a plurality of bracketsfor engaging a plurality of the said acoustic louvres 10 in spaced apartrelationship. Furthermore, the brackets may locate a lateral extent ofthe or each said acoustic louvre 10 at an angle to a horizontal plane ora vertical plane.

The louvre body 12 includes opposing longitudinal capping elements 14,lateral end caps (not shown) for interengaging the capping elements 14,and upper and lower cover elements 16, 18 which extend between thelongitudinal capping elements 14 and the lateral end caps. The cappingelements 14 and the end caps define minor side surfaces 20 of the louvrebody 12, whereas the cover elements 16, 18 define at least a majorportion of the upper and lower major surfaces 22, 24 of the louvre body12.

The capping elements 14 are preferably metal or plastics extrusions, andmay for example be aerodynamically profiled to reduce wind resistancewhen in use. Each capping element 14 includes a slot 26 along its upperand lower rear-facing longitudinal edges 28 for receiving a longitudinaledge 30 of the respective cover element 16, 18.

The end caps may also be metal or plastics, and are preferably fastenedvia screw-threaded fasteners to screw-ports 32 of the capping elements14. Additional or alternative fastening means can also be considered,such as welding and bonding.

The cover elements 16, 18 are also preferably metal or plastics planarplates 34. In this case, each plate 34 is perforated with a multiplicityof small spaced-apart apertures 36. However, fewer and larger aperturesmay be considered. It is even possible that only a single large aperturemay be utilised whereby the cover element 16, 18 forms a perimeterborder interconnecting the capping elements 14 and the end caps.

The longitudinal capping elements 14, the lateral end caps, and theupper and lower cover elements 16, 18 form a support element 38 in whichis housable a sound-energy absorption element 40. The sound-energyabsorption element 40 is preferably an insulator, such as rockwool oropen-cell polyurethane foam, for example. An advantage of utilisingsubstantially rigid polyurethane foam board as the insulator will bedescribed hereinafter.

In this embodiment, the sound-energy absorption element 40 includesupper and lower sound-energy absorption parts 42, 44 interposed betweenwhich is a baffle element 46. The baffle element 46 is a preferablysolid sheet of metal, such as aluminium, or plastics and to which theupper and lower sound-energy absorption parts 42, 44 are mounted orabut.

The sound-energy absorption element 40 extends substantially fullybetween the capping elements 14 and the end caps, and substantiallyfully between the upper and lower cover elements 16, 18.

The baffle element 46, similarly, extends substantially fully betweenthe capping elements 14 and the end caps, and may extend slightly beyondthe outer side faces 48 of the upper and lower sound-energy absorptionparts 42, 44.

To protect or shield the sound-energy absorption element 40 from theelements, the louvre body 12 includes a, preferably soft and/or tactile,flexible plastics watertight element 50 which fully encases thesound-energy absorption element 40 and the baffle element 46. Thewatertight element 50 is preferably a lightweight membrane 52, forexample, formed from rubber, silicon or plastics, which extends alongthe minor side surfaces 48 and the upper and lower major surfaces 54, 56of the sound-energy absorption element 40.

Optionally, instead of utilising a single membrane 52 to cover bothupper and lower sound-energy absorption parts 42, 44, each sound-energyabsorption part 42, 44 may be separately encased, and then mounted onthe baffle element 46.

Furthermore, the watertight membrane or element 50 may be double skinnedfor improved durability.

The watertight membrane 52 may be a bag, and/or may be a vacuum formedor pressure formed layer or film. Preferably, the sound-energyabsorption element 40 may be coated with a base layer of adhesive priorto the membrane being applied. This would provide greater punctureresistance.

In any event, the watertight element 50 is sufficiently thin to allowsubstantially unobstructed passage of sound energy into the sound-energyabsorption element 40, whilst being sufficiently robust or resilient toprotect against being punctured, for example, from flying debris ordetritus. Preferably, the watertight element 50 is drawn tightly acrossthe sound-energy absorption parts 42, 44, so that at least the outersurfaces 58 are smooth and at least substantially uncreased orunwrinkled.

Beneficially, the watertight element 50 is coloured to match orsubstantially match at least the outer surface 60 of the adjacent coverelement 16, 18. This is particularly important from an aestheticperspective, since architects and designers are not inclined to specifyparts or features which detract from the overall appearance of abuilding or installation. By colour matching the watertight element 50to the cover element 16, 18, the watertight element 50 becomes barelynoticeable through the apertures 36 of the upper and lower coverelements 16, 18, especially at distance.

In use, the exterior acoustic louvre 10 can thus be utilised to absorbincident sound energy directed onto both the upper and lower majorsurfaces 22, 24 of the louvre body 12. The baffle element 46 prevents orlimits the passage of unabsorbed sound energy through and back out ofthe louvre body 12, and by having open upper and lower major surfaces22, 24, any reflected sound energy is typically directed to an adjacentmajor surface 22, 24 of a neighbouring like exterior acoustic louvre 10,whereby it is absorbed or dissipated.

The watertight element 50 prevents the ingress of moisture,precipitation and other particulate matter into the sound-energyabsorption element 40, thereby maintaining its integrity andfunctionality.

The apertured upper and lower cover elements 16, 18 aid in protectingthe watertight element 50 and the sound-energy absorption element 40from environmental conditions, and disguise the watertight element 50especially when formed with the same or similar colour.

In a modification to the embodiment described above, the watertightelement 50 may be non-uniformly planar, for example, by including arippling or sinusoidal wavy outer surface. This may be beneficial indispersing or dissipating reflected sound energy. In this case, anyreflected sound energy may be incident on an underside surface 62 of theadjacent cover element 16, 18, and thus be reflected again back to thewatertight element 50 and into the sound-energy absorption element 40.

In a further modification, the cover elements 16, 18 may be dispensedwith, whereby the upper and lower surfaces 64, 66 of the watertightelement 50 thus at least in part define the upper and lower majorsurfaces 22, 24 of the louvre body 12. In this case, the longitudinalcapping elements 14 hold the watertight element 50 and the sound-energyabsorption element 40, creating a rigid or substantially rigid louvrebody 12. The watertight element 50 would need to be suitably resilientto withstand environmental conditions without being punctured orperforated.

To promote better drainage either with or without the cover elements 16,18, the watertight element 50 and/or the sound-energy absorption element40 may have at least one major surface, typically being the upper majorsurface 64, which is sloped or ramped to promote runoff. The sloping orramped surface may be planar, multifaceted, curved or domed, by way ofexample. Other non-uniform cross-sectional profiles along one or moredimensional axes can also be considered to improve the aerodynamics ofthe louvre body 12, drainage, airflow and pressure drops thereacross.

Although preferably planar, the cover elements 16, 18 may also benon-planar in at least one dimension or direction as necessity dictates.

It may also be feasible that the watertightly encased sound-energyabsorption element 40 defines, fully or at least in part, the minor andmajor outer surfaces of the louvre body 12. This would be particularlyachievable by utilising the aforementioned polyurethane foam board. Thismay enable the longitudinal capping elements 14 and/or the lateral endcaps to be dispensed with. In this case, the baffle element 46 may beutilised to provide a hidden or discrete bracket for supporting theexterior acoustic louvre 10 and for connection to the supports of theexterior louvre system.

It is thus possible to provide an exterior acoustic louvre whereby thewatertightly encased sound-energy absorption element is accessible byincident sound energy in the directions of both the upper and lowermajor surfaces of the louvre body.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples only,and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled inthe field without departing from the scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

1. An exterior acoustic louvre comprising a louvre body defining majorupper and lower surfaces and minor side surfaces, the louvre bodyincluding a support element, a sound-energy absorption element supportedby the support element, and a flexible plastics watertight element whichwatertightly encases the sound-energy absorption element, whereby thewatertightly encased sound-energy absorption element is accessible inthe directions of both the upper and lower major surfaces of the louvrebody.
 2. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 1, wherein theflexible plastics watertight element is colour coordinated to at leastsubstantially match a colour of the support element.
 3. The exterioracoustic louvre as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible plasticswatertight element is a membrane.
 4. The exterior acoustic louvre asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible plastics watertight element isvacuum formed around the sound-energy absorption element.
 5. Theexterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexibleplastics watertight element has non-smoothly planar upper and lowermajor surfaces, whereby reflected incident sound-energy is dispersed. 6.The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 1, wherein thesound-energy absorption element has a non-uniform cross-section in atleast one direction.
 7. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim6, wherein the sound-energy absorption element is at least in partramped.
 8. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a baffle element interposed between two parts of thesound-energy absorption element.
 9. The exterior acoustic louvre asclaimed in claim 8, wherein the baffle element forms at least part ofthe support element.
 10. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the support element of the louvre body includes coverelements which define at least in part the major upper and lowersurfaces, each cover element including at least one opening providingaccess to the sound-energy absorption element.
 11. The exterior acousticlouvre as claimed in claim 10, wherein each cover element is a plate.12. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 10, wherein eachcover element has a plurality of apertures therethrough.
 13. Theexterior acoustic louvre as claimed in claim 10, wherein each coverelement is perforated.
 14. The exterior acoustic louvre as claimed inclaim 10, wherein the support element includes longitudinal end caps,the cover elements being engagable with the longitudinal end caps.